August 23, 2011, Tokyo, Japan – Former Thai Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, speaks to foreign and domestic journalist during a news conference at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan (FCCJ) on Tuesday, August 23, 2011. Thaksin arrived in Japan on Monday on a high-profile visit at the invitation of the FCCJ. The fugitive former prime minister was convicted and sentenced to two years for abuse of power over his wife’s purchase of a plot of land from a state agency while he was in office. Because Japan’s immigration law prohibits entry to any foreigner convicted of a crime carrying a sentence of more than one year, Thaksin had to obtain the special entry visa after a request from the new Thai government of his younger sister Thai Prime Minister, Yingluck Shinawatra. (Photo by Natsuki Sakai/AFLO)